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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26873893">You Put Coffee in What Now?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiamagnolia/pseuds/georgiamagnolia'>georgiamagnolia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Plot Bunnies of Barba and Benson [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Law &amp; Order: SVU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:40:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,347</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26873893</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiamagnolia/pseuds/georgiamagnolia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Late night cooking, classic cinema, and ice cream make for a lovely sleepover, don't they?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Plot Bunnies of Barba and Benson [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You Put Coffee in What Now?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once Dodds checked that the coast was clear, he and Oliva moved upstairs to her office. The squad was deserted and that suited them fine. Oliva composed an email for her co-workers explaining the situation and assuring them that everyone was fine, but leaving out the bigger details of the ongoing case that she didn’t even have the full story about yet. She did eventually though, as Dodds disappeared to his own office while she was writing her email, returning with a copy of the file full of information for her. They went over the file and Olivia locked it in a file drawer at Dodds’ request. </p><p>Time seemed to slow to a crawl after they were done reviewing the ongoing investigation. Dodds made a few poor attempts at discussing the events of the evening even though he couldn’t help but overhear the details she had given in her statement. Olivia tried to let him off the conversational hook, but Dodds didn’t seem to get it. Finally she excused herself to go to the break room and make coffee. Dodds seemed relieved. </p><p>Olivia smiled as she made the coffee. Her boss, despite being a charming and well spoken man, just wasn’t good with the interpersonal aspects of this job, it made her wonder how the hell he got assigned to a unit that was nearly entirely about the interpersonal aspects of police work. The Chief of Ds seemed to rely on him so perhaps this current case would get him a promotion out of her hair, that made her smile, too. She took coffee into her office where she found Dodds looking at pictures on her wall of her son and various drawings he had made that she tacked up.</p><p>“If you tell anyone I brought you coffee, I will deny it.” She sat coffee and sugar and creamer on the desk, hers already made the way she liked it.</p><p>Dodds turned and smiled, stepped to the desk. “Your reputation is safe with me, Lieutenant.” He doctored his coffee and looked at her in surprise when he tasted it. “But only if you tell me why your coffee is so much better than what’s available on my floor.” He took another drink. “Thanks Olivia, really, this is good.”</p><p>“We use the swear jar money to buy the good grounds, then we hide them from the rest of the building.” She smiled over her own mug of coffee.</p><p>“Which either means someone curses frequently or you have connections.”</p><p>Olivia only laughed.</p><p>It was well past midnight when the DA and the ADA joined them in Olivia’s squad room.</p><p>“The alphabet circus has left the building, I suggest we do the same,” McCoy said when they entered.</p><p>“I’ll contact your detail, Jack, and tell them I’ll give you a ride home again if that suits you?” Dodds asked. McCoy nodded. They both went out to the bullpen, phones again to their ears.</p><p>Oliva watched Rafael as he sat in one of the visitor’s chairs in her office, the chair he always sat in, not different from other visits to her office at all, yet it was different tonight. He hadn’t been shot at on any other visits. She was happy to see him sitting there so normally after imagining he might be dead and afraid she’d never see him cluttering her office again. </p><p>“It went well?” her voice held an almost timid quality that was new and it caused Rafael to look up at her where she still stood next to the desk, where she had been since his return to her office from the interrogation room a few floors away. He studied her and only nodded before McCoy was back in the room, distracting them from any further discussion.</p><p>“Bill is afraid that my taking you out of your office is going to hamstring his unit,” McCoy addressed Rafael, then turned to Olivia. “Would you have a desk for my ADA if you need his assistance this week, to keep him out of our building and off the radar?”</p><p>Rafael groaned and Olivia beamed a smile at both men, “Sure, and Carisi will be thrilled.” McCoy looked from one to another and Olivia continued, “One of my detectives is studying for the bar, he’ll be pleased to spend more time with his mentor nearby.” </p><p>McCoy grinned, catching on. “Good to know you have a fanbase, Barba. Is your would-be attorney any good? Should I be looking to poach the talent?”</p><p>“Don’t you dare, didn’t we already discuss my squad being short-handed?” Olivia smiled to take the bite out of her comment.</p><p>“He’ll never be a mini-me unless I learn to walk on stilts,” Rafael grumped, “but he isn’t half bad.” McCoy could tell Rafael’s grudging tone was feigned.</p><p>“Well, let me know if he passes the bar on the first try,” McCoy said, doing his best to hide his calculating look.</p><p>“He’d better pass the first try,” Rafael said under his breath. </p><p>Dodds returned to the office, effectively stopping that conversation. “This bus is leaving, Jack, you ready?”</p><p>“I am, are you two good to go or do you need…?” Jack’s voice trailed off, watching the other two in the room.</p><p>“We’re good, Jack, thanks,” Rafael said, not looking at Olivia but knowing he didn’t want to be stuck in a car with his boss and hers and hoping she wouldn’t condemn him to that hell, plus she was supposed to be home with him watching a movie by now but he wasn’t about to tell his boss that.</p><p>“Yep,” she said, “so ready to get out of here.” </p><p>The four of them left, parting at the front door of the station. Olivia and Rafael were quiet all the way back to his apartment building. Oliva asked him for directions to the parking entrance and used the swipe card to get them into the underground structure. They used the card again at the elevator, still silent all the way to his door.</p><p>The apartment was dark and quiet, the only light a small one over the stove in the kitchen that Rafael had left on. He left his briefcase by the door and wandered into the dim living room, dropping to the couch.</p><p>Olivia followed, sitting next to him.</p><p>A very long while later Rafael spoke softly, “I’m so sorry, Liv.”</p><p>Olivia reached out to where Rafael’s hands were fisted on his thighs and covered his hand with her own, “I’m just glad I was there.” She wasn’t sure what he thought he needed to apologize for, was it for being shot at? Was he upset at dealing with Tucker, she knew he wasn’t a favourite of Rafael’s. If it was some misguided machismo bullshit about being protected by a woman, she was seriously going to slap him. She didn’t think that was it though, his brass ego could handle that, she was certain. She tightened her hand over his fist, trying to give the comfort and strength she knew she would need if their positions were reversed, trying to silently encourage him to talk to her.</p><p>Slowly she felt him relax and his hand opened under hers, turning so that they were palm to palm and she curled hers over his and laced their fingers together. “You can talk about it if you want, or not, no judgement.”</p><p>Rafael felt the fear again, not fear of his own demise, but fear that she was shot, that the sounds he had heard were of her injury or death, that the next sound he heard was not her voice but the gloating of their killer. He had known in that moment that if she was dead he would follow her there because he realized that his life without her in it was worthless to him. He gripped her hand tight in his own. “I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it yet.” He wasn’t sure he ever would be, but also knew he wanted to, when the fear wasn’t a raw gnawing wound in his chest. “But I will be. Eventually. Maybe.” </p><p>Olivia leaned against his side and he could hear the smile in her voice, “I’ll be here when you’re ready.”</p><p>“Thank you, in case I didn’t say it earlier.”</p><p>“You’re always welcome,” her voice was soft and close to his ear and he hoped she didn’t feel the shiver it put down his spine.</p><p> </p><p>~~~   ~~~   ~~~   </p><p>Olivia woke and knew immediately she was not at home, a moment later she remembered she was in the guest room at Rafael’s. It was still dark so she reached for her phone and clicked the button to light it up and see the time, nearly three-thirty in the morning. She’d been asleep maybe an hour and wondered what had awakened her so she listened to the quiet apartment, waiting to go back to sleep. She could hear someone in the hall and wondered if Rafael was having trouble sleeping, she knew she had a hard time going to sleep tonight herself.</p><p>Olivia turned on the small lamp on the nightstand and slipped from the bed. She pulled on the sweats she had worn earlier in the evening and headed for the hall to see where Rafael was. She found him in the kitchen. She leaned on the wall and watched him working at the stove. She didn’t want to startle him so debated if she should say something or wait until he turned around. The choice was made for her when he looked over his shoulder and gave her a small half smile.</p><p>“I didn’t mean to wake you, sorry.”</p><p>“I don’t think you did, no apology needed. But why are you cooking at three in the morning?”</p><p>“Couldn’t sleep.”</p><p>“You’ve been busy,” she said, walking forward and looking over the cutting board full of chopped onion, celery, and mushrooms. Looking over his shoulder she could see he was searing a roast in a deep sided skillet. She stepped back and watched him finish that and then place it in a slow cooker. He picked up the chopping board and scraped the chopped vegetables into the same pan he’d browned the roast in, then added a generous pour of garlic flavoured olive oil. He opened a jar of minced garlic and added a big spoonful to the pan, thought a moment and added some more. “Too much garlic is not quite enough,” he said. He started stirring the pan as the vegetables started to cook, adding spices and salt and pepper as he did. </p><p>His cooking appeared nearly meditative and Olivia didn’t want to interrupt but she also found she couldn’t stop watching. Rafael was dressed in sweats again, and another tank style undershirt, and his black apron, bare footed on the kitchen tile. As he stirred she could see the muscles work in his forearms, much like when he rolled his sleeves up and took notes when they worked a case. Rafael in the kitchen was as compelling as Rafael in the office, and Olivia realized she had been watching him with a different interest for a long time. She had been unable to admit it inside her own head, but that didn’t negate the fact that she had been aware of Rafael in a less professional way for longer than she liked to recognize. </p><p>Rafael took a spoon from the drawer and fished out a cooked mushroom from the pan, blowing to cool it and then tasting the bite. He gave a dissatisfied ‘hmf’ sound and shook some more seasonings over the pan, stirring and then tasted again, seemed happy finally and sat the lid on the pan. He opened the pantry door and took a bag of potatoes and some carrots out, dumping some of each into the sink and turning the water on over them. Next he did something that completely surprised Olivia, though maybe it shouldn’t have considering his addictions. Rafael picked up the leftover coffee they hadn’t finished earlier and dumped the rest of the pot into the pan of vegetables on the stove, giving it a stir before replacing the lid.</p><p>“I know you are a coffee addict but what is that?”</p><p>“It’s a legitimate recipe, you can look it up online,” he said as he rinsed the pot and refilled it with cold water. He sat the pot in the coffeemaker and took out the filter to clean and refill it. He poured the water into the machine and set up the timer for later in the morning. Next he started to wash and then cut up the carrots and potatoes, sliding them into the slow cooker with the beef roast. By the time he was done the mix on the stove top had come to a boil so he poured it into the slow cooker and gave it one last stir. The bottle of wine they hadn’t finished with dinner was on the sink and he looked to see how much was left, not much, so he poured it in as well and put the lid on the slow cooker, checking that it was on low. “Wine isn’t in the recipe but no sense having it go to waste, right?” He grinned at her like a mad scientist in the kitchen. He made quick work of clean up, stashing the used pans in the dishwasher and wiping down the counters. He poured the soap where it belonged and shut the dishwasher door, pushed a button and the dishwasher started silently.</p><p>“It’s a little late for a drink and too early for breakfast, want some ice cream? We never made it to dessert last night.” Rafael was already reaching down bowls.</p><p>“Sure, four in the morning is perfect for dessert.” Olivia moved toward the drawer and got out spoons. </p><p>“Ice cream is on the door of the freezer, pick your poison.”</p><p>Olivia moved to the refrigerator and opened the top compartment, sure enough there were four pints of ice cream in the door shelf. All of them were her favourite brand and two were ones she particularly liked. She stacked all of them in her arms and let the door swing shut as she placed the ice cream on the kitchen island. Rafael joined her with bowls and two scoops, one big and one small. He held them up, “For when you want a little of everything,” he indicated the small scoop, “or a lot of one,” he shook the big scoop. “Help yourself.”</p><p>Rafael took the smaller scoop and opened two of the flavours, scooping some into a bowl, rinsing the scoop between the chocolate silk and the mint chocolate chip. Olivia took the big scoop and helped herself to the strawberry cheesecake. Rafael put the rinsed scoops in the sink and returned the ice cream to the freezer. “I guess I could have waited to start the dishwasher, oh well. Dishes in the sink makes the place look lived in, right?” Rafael took off his apron and returned it to the hook in the pantry. He picked up his bowl and spoon and headed to the living room. He didn’t turn on a light so only the kitchen light illuminated the couch, leaving it mostly in shadow. Olivia followed with her own ice cream.</p><p>“Do you want something to drink? I have milk or water, some orange juice, maybe a can or two of cola in the back of the fridge.”</p><p>“Thanks, no, I’m good.” Olivia waved her spoon at the bowl of ice cream. </p><p>After a few bites, Rafael said, “I still owe you a movie, too. Want to see what’s playing on the too late/too early channel?”</p><p>Olivia laughed, “Sure, why not.”</p><p>Rafael picked up the remote and brought up the menu, flicking down the pages until he found a movie about to start. “How about Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant?”</p><p>“Classic, I love them and this is a favourite.”</p><p>The movie Charade had barely started and they discussed that they had both seen it and loved it so they settled in to watch. When they finished their ice cream Olivia took the bowls to the kitchen and rinsed them, Rafael followed and turned the light over the stove back on, turning off the overhead light and they returned to their movie. At the couch again, he took the quilt folded on the back of the couch and indicated Olivia should sit in the middle of the couch, he sat next to her and spread the quilt over them to share. They sat shoulder to shoulder and enjoyed the movie. </p><p>~~~   ~~~   ~~~</p><p>Olivia woke and it was brighter than before, early morning was shining in the window. She was warm and comfortable. There were arms wrapped around her. Under the delicious scent of roasting beef from the kitchen was the subtle scent of warm skin and the faintest hint of Rafael’s cologne. She felt a brief moment of guilt for feeling so sinfully comfortable wrapped with him on the couch under a quilt, then decided to ignore that for the moment and enjoy it. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.</p><p>Rafael came awake slowly, wondering why he could hear his coffeemaker gurgle the last of its cycle and realized he was on the couch not in his bed. Then he remembered the movie with Olivia. Now he was waking on that couch under the quilt and Olivia. He didn’t think this was a terrible way to wake, with her head tucked under his chin and their limbs tangled together. He felt content and uninclined to disturb the arrangement as she remained sleeping. He closed his eyes and inhaled the soft scent of her hair.</p><p>Olivia’s breathing changed and he knew she was waking. He opened his eyes and looked down to see her eyes were open and she was giving him a soft smile.</p><p>“Good morning,” he said quietly.</p><p>“Good morning. Sorry I fell asleep.”</p><p>“It was five in the morning, it’s allowed.” He returned her smile, noticing neither of them were moving yet.</p><p>“What time is it?”</p><p>“Just after ten, the coffeemaker was set for ten and it just finished.”</p><p>“Mmm,” Olivia started to disengage from the tangle of quilt and him. “Coffee sounds wonderful.”</p><p>Rafael bit back a groan because she sounded wonderful. “Meet me in the kitchen in ten and I will make you breakfast.”</p><p>Olivia looked at him from where she sat on the edge of the couch, “All you’ve done is feed me since I got here, maybe I should take some kitchen duties, huh?”</p><p>He folded his arms behind his head and said, “Psychologists say that we feed the people we want to nurture, like taking someone on a date for dinner is a way to prove we can provide. It’s a throwback to hunter/gatherer times.”</p><p>“In that case meet me in the kitchen in ten and we can make breakfast together,” she smiled again and got up to head for the guest room. Rafael stayed where he was for a moment contemplating what she could have meant before rising himself and heading for his own room.</p><p>When Olivia returned to the kitchen, she found Rafael still in the sweats and tank he had worn the night before, but he was washed and brushed and aproned again. She grinned, they were both wearing what they had slept in, both bare footed, and as she slipped on the apron he had left on the kitchen island for her, they fully matched. Rafael was starting to cook bacon in a big cast iron skillet.</p><p>“Bacon and an omelet with toast sound good?”</p><p>“I feel spoiled, I usually have toast and coffee and sometimes cereal if Noah shares.” </p><p>“Here at Chez Barba we aim to spoil.”</p><p>“Successful as always then.”</p><p>Rafael looked over his shoulder at her and grinned, then turned back to the bacon. “There’s a carton of eggs in the fridge, and all kinds of stuff to add into your omelet, choose whatever you like.”</p><p>They ended up having cheese and ham and fresh tomatoes in their omelets. Olivia manned the toaster and wielded the butter knife while Rafael finished the eggs and plated breakfast. Juice and coffee were poured, jelly was brought to the table and they sat to eat. Olivia slathered a thin layer of grape jelly over her omelet and watched it quickly melt on the warm egg dish.</p><p>“What in hell is that? And you look askance at my coffee roast beef recipe.”</p><p>“It’s good, honestly Rafael, learn to experiment.” Olivia cut a small bite from the middle of her omelet and held it out for Rafael to try. He leaned forward and ate the bite off her fork, completely aware it was a much more intimate gesture than her stealing his fries when they had burgers at Forlini’s.</p><p>“Ok, that doesn’t suck. But I like salsa on my omelet.” He picked up the jar he’d brought to the table and poured a generous helping over his own breakfast. He cut a bite just as she did and offered it, fair was fair. She ate it and smiled. “It’s homemade. The mother of the guy who owns the quick shop down the street makes it and gives me some for Christmas every year.”</p><p>“You are a lucky man, Rafael Barba.”</p><p>“Don’t I know it.”</p><p>Breakfast was good and they talked about food they liked and recipes Rafael had been trying for the last several weeks while he’d been on semi-lockdown due to the situation at his office. They did not talk directly about the threats, neither wanting to spoil breakfast, but both knowing that eventually they would discuss it, or parts of it anyway. Their unspoken avoidance of the topic was mutual, for now.</p><p>After breakfast they shared the clean up and Olivia learned the kitchen as she helped empty the dishwasher and then refill it. While Rafael was cleaning his cast iron Olivia heard her phone ring and went to the guest room to answer it where it had been plugged in to charge. </p><p>“Get called on a case?” he asked when she returned to the kitchen.</p><p>“Nope. Just a text from Noah’s hostess.” Olivia held up the phone, showing a picture of Noah and his little friends in front of a huge birthday cake. “She says they plan to be done at the zoo around four.”</p><p>“Hours of freedom.”</p><p>“Hours for cleaning house and doing laundry.”</p><p>“Ugh.”</p><p>“It’s a dirty job but mom’s gotta do it.”</p><p>“Let me come help.”</p><p>“What?! No. Good gods, Rafael, you are NOT mopping my kitchen or cleaning my bathroom sinks.” She made a disbelieving face at him.</p><p>“Why not, who do you think cleans my floors?”</p><p>“Housekeeper?”</p><p>He made a pft sound of mockery, “Nope, little old me. I’m actually quite domesticated.”</p><p>“I’m beginning to see that,” she said. “But I am still not letting you wash my delicates.”</p><p>“Ok, you do the laundry, I’ll do the floors, we can split the baths.”</p><p>She laughed, “You can’t be serious.”</p><p>“Oh but I am, very,” he said. “You’d be doing me a favour,” he shrugged.</p><p>“How on earth is cleaning house a favour?”</p><p>“It’s new territory and I am tired of looking at my own four walls. The most fun I’ve had in weeks is hosting you this weekend, barring trips to the police station of course.” It was the first either of them had directly mentioned the incident of the night before. “I’m reluctant to let it end.” He gave her a look equally hopeful and full of bravado, as if ready for her to brush him off, that a no from her might hurt but ready to hide it from her. </p><p>“Ok, well, when you put I that way,” she said but stopped herself from saying she would take pity on him, that was the wrong sentiment entirely. “It would go faster if we did it together, then I might have time to squeeze in a bubble bath with a book.”</p><p>Rafael refused to imagine a bubble bath covered Olivia but his libido took that mental image and tortured him for a moment. An idea occurred and he knew as soon as he voiced it that it might kill him, but he said it anyway, “How about we get your place spic and span and you bring a book back here and try out my garden tub. Then when it’s time to pick Noah up you come back and have dinner here, I have an entire roast going and only me to eat it. Tomorrow’s Sunday and unless you have plans for tonight, you and Noah can stay here and we can eat leftovers and watch movies all day Sunday.”</p><p>Olivia was shocked, just as she had been when he had invited her for the night. He had to be desperate for company if he was inviting her to not only stay another night but bring her grade school aged son along, her son who despite her best efforts was a force of chaos that she loved but despaired to ever tame. He was a well behaved child but like all children his age was a moving disaster area.</p><p>Rafael misinterpreted her silence. “Damn, I forgot about the threats for a minute, of course you don’t want Noah in the middle of this, what was I thinking?”</p><p>Olivia was quick to reassure him, “No, Rafael, it’s not that at all. I just worry for your neat and tidy house. Noah is a normal growing child and likes to play with Legos and leave books all over the place. But I think for one night we might be able to contain the rambunctious if we work together?”</p><p>Rafael thought of the precariously leaning stack of books on his own nightstand and grinned. “It’s a plan then, right?”</p><p>“Yes, I think so.” Olivia was amazed at the wide, sunny smile Rafael gave her, the kind of smile he rarely gave her and she had never seen him give anyone else.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There really is a recipe for making roast beef with coffee, I wouldn't lie to you.  I haven't tried it but I want to.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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